RPGaDAY2016: Day 19

What is the best way to learn a new game?

No shock or surprise with this answer.
The best way to learn is to play.

That's not just true for games, that's true for lots of things. Almost everything in fact.

Sure you can get more detail reading, but doing is the best.

Let me ask you this.  Are you going to get into a airplane with someone that actually has flown and landed an airplane or someone that has only read about it?


http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons. My collection is now complete!

Look what I got in the mail today!

+Mark Taormino's Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #2 and #3.

I now have the complete set.

In order of playability, lowest to the highest.

Just missing an adventure for 4th to 6th and then 12th to 14th.

Not sure what I will do with these.  Hanging Coffins was so much fun I just had to have these.  The 3D glasses and pictures are a nice and unexpected treat.

I also can't help but think that Mark and +Venger Satanis need to get together to make a really gonzo adventure.  Liberation of the Demonslayer would fit into all of this really nice and Star Spawn practically begs to be mixed with Alpha Blue.  Get on that one guys!

RPGaDAY2016: Day 18

What innovation could RPG groups gain the most benefit from?

Hard to say since I don't know exactly what other groups are doing.

The biggest obstacle or complaint I have seen is being able to find a time everyone can meet to play.
But for this situation I have seen some great tools online that allow people to meet when they can.

I have nothing profound here.


http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

The Toll of Depression

I originally wrote this for my atheism blog, The Freedom of Nonbelief, but I think it is better suited here.

I usually don't post a lot of personal pictures here, but this one is important to me.

Me, my son Connor as a baby and his big brother Liam at age 4. They are 13 and 16 now.

Doesn't look like I am suffering from depression here at all, but I was.

This photo was taken sometime in February 2004.  I have to trust the date on the file because I have no recollection of it happening.   I didn't know it then, but I was still about 5-6 months before I started to get well.

Back in 2000 to 2001 I started to hit a downward spiral. I am not really sure what caused it but there were lot of factors that added to it.  By the end of 2001 I was in deep. So deep that I barely recall anything that happened between 2001 and 2005.   Which is really fucking sad to be honest.  My kids were born in 1999 and 2003, this should have been one of the happiest times in my life.

I was fortunate.  Really.  My wife was there for me every awful moment I put her through. Sleeping all day, up all night. Thankfully I never had suicidal thoughts. I never gave into drinking too much, in fact, I think the whole thing cut my drinking down to nothing.  I did get to write. That is plus.
But there were days that just disappeared from me. Hours, even days, lost in some haze that I to this day can't recall.

I used to think that I was immune to this sort of thing. Really.  I had a GREAT childhood. Parents that loved and supported me. Great friends. I always had a job. I may not have been rich but I could afford to feed myself and I had a place to sleep at night.  I knew the warning signs too.  I have degrees in Psychology. I did my Master's work while working a suicide hotline.  I did my Ph.D. work in one of the best cities in the country.  I really had it made.

Maybe that all made it worse. I felt like I was a sham. I didn't have the right to be so depressed. There were so many others out there that had it worse than me.    But that is part of the stigma.
In psychology, we call depression the "Common Cold" of psychological ailments because it is so common.  But what I had was more like full blown N1H1 flu.  I knew the signs and I was bowled over anyway.

The toll comes in from the damage that happens all around you.  I was taking really piss poor care of myself.  Despite trying to get out and exercise I still gained weight. My health in general sucked. Then there are the relationships.  I basically had two personality traits then; catatonic or angry.  Thank goodness my wife and kids are as stubborn as they are. I don't know if I would have stuck with me.

This video by +Wil Wheaton kinda sums up how things were for me too. The first two minutes really captures how the anger was.   I met him in 2009 or so. Had I known all of this we could have at least mentioned it to each other. How we both got out of it.



I didn't go see anyone. Maybe I should have. I might have gotten better sooner.

It's weird.  I have started, stopped and started this post at least a dozen times. I have had to update my kids' ages a couple of times since starting.

In the process of revising this post, this was posted to my feed. (and yet again more evidence of how many time I have started and restarted this).

It is Sex+ and atheist YouTuber and Vlogger +Laci Green.   I like Laci. I think she is great.  This video though doesn't make me happy.



It doesn't make me happy because I know all too well what she is saying.  I have been there.

In fact here is another one.
https://satyrosphilbrucato.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/stigma-disorders-and-shame/

And one more (see I told you I started this many times). +JaclynGlenn is another fave of mine and she makes a lot of great points.



Sometimes I feel like it is some kind of monster, waiting to draw me back in.  Minus a minor episode in 2007 things have been really good. But yet it is always there, lurking in the shadows.

What do I want to say about this?

I guess to say this is not uncommon.  People all over suffer from this.

The things I learned that I really wish I knew back then:
- It won't be forever.  I knew that, intellectually, but it was hard to process that then.
- Get help. I get shots for the flu, take Lipitor for all chili-cheese dogs I ate as a kid and getting help for this is no different.
- Get a support net. I was lucky.  My wife and kids kept me protected and safe. I never could have made it without them.

I am better now.
But I see the same behaviors I went through in others and I wanted to post this to let them know that they are not alone, they are not unique in their suffering and there is help and others out there.

We have the greatest communication tool ever invented (to date), lets use it to make things better.

(Note: just putting this link here in case I do put it up on my other blog.
http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2016/08/the-toll-of-depression.html)

RPGaDAY2016: Day 17

What fictional character would best fit in your group? Why?

Hmm. Too much like the last question really.

ALTERNATE QUESTION TIME!

If could relive your gaming years so far, what would you want to do more of?

I am pretty happy with the way things went in my gaming career.
Right now I am doing all the things I wanted to do then and then some more.

But I suppose that when growing up in the 80s I would have tried to play with more different groups.
I think part of that is really thought kind of a "the grass is greener" phenomena.  Not that those groups were in fact doing things better, just different.

My desire is to experience that difference as it was and appreciate it for what it was.
Which of course is the problem, I want to experience it as a kid, but appreciate it as an adult!

Best to just do the things I want now.

http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 16

What historical character would you like in your group? For what game?

This is an odd question.  I like history and I like reading about it, but there isn't anyone from history I want at my gaming table really.

I have used plenty of historical people as characters in games though.

As a former psychologist I would love to have a game where Sigmund Freud makes a cameo appearance.  That would be a lot of fun.


http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

Monstrous Mondays: Stranger Things

If you play D&D or ever played it and read this blog chances are really good that you have already heard of (or have watched) Netflix's Stranger Things.

It is the biggest hit of the summer and made huge stars not just of the great young cast, but also D&D. In fact it is being credited with helping D&D sales.

Beyond all that it is just great story telling and a fantastic tale.

Plus it has a cool monster.

The Monster, called "Demogorgon" after our favorite two-headed demon prince, is a true monster.  It is hard to see, hunts and kills people and can smell blood anywhere.  I am not going to spoil it if you have not seen it, but sufice to say it is a great monster.

Great enough in fact for AD&D.  Here it is, with some artistic liberties taken.

The Monster
AKA: The Demogorgon
Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 1 (believed unique)
Size: Large 7" (L)
Armor Class: 5 [14]₁
Movement
 Basic: 180' (60')
 Advanced: 18"/27"
 3e: 45ft
Hit Dice: 8d8+4 (40 hp)
% in Lair: 50% (hunting at night, hiding in the Border Ethereal)
Treasure Type: None
Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite)
Damage: 1d6+4/1d6+4/1d6
Special Attacks: Scream (as fear spell)
Special Defenses: Ethereal Projection; Immune to all gaze attacks, blindness; regeneration
Save As: Witch 10₂
Magic Resistance: none
Morale: 10₃
Alignment: Chaotic evil (animal)
Level/XP: 8/4,250 + 12/hp

STR: 19 INT: 10 WIS: 8 DEX: 16 CON: 20  CHA: 6

1 Descending and [Ascending] Armor classes are given.
2 This is used for Basic games, and S&W. Also for monsters that I think need to save a little differently than others.
3 Morale is "Basic" Morale and based on a 1-12 scale. Multiply by 1.6667 for 1-20 scale.

The Monster, known by locals as "the Demogorgon" is not a demon, or even related to demons.  It is a native of the Border Ethereal known as "the Upside-Down" and really not much more than an animal.  It is a rather terrifying animal with hunting abilities similar to that of a shark.  It has no eyes, it's entire head opens up to a large mouth, it can smell and even taste blood on the air like a snake or shark would.

The Monster is a nocturnal hunter, not because of fear of light, but it is when it has advantage over it's prey.  It seeks out it's prey, large warm blooded creatures, and drags it back to it's lair in the Border Ethereal.  There it can feed at it's leisure.

The Monster can heal itself at the rate of 2 hp per round.

Don't forget to include the hashtag #MonsterMonday on Twitter or #MonsterMonday on Google+ when you post your own monsters!

RPGaDAY2016: Day 15

What types or source of inspiration do you turn to most often for RPGs?

I have mentioned it before, and if you hang out here for any length of time it is obvious, but music and horror movies are my primary sources of inspiration for games.

Yes. I am a voracious reader and I devour fantasy, horror, history and psychology books to feed my game ideas.  But those ideas usually come from a place when I am listening to music or watching a horror movie.

Many of my games even have a "Soundtrack", often known only to me, but they do.
For my "The Dragon and the Phoenix" Buffy game I posted many of the songs here. The Dragon Slayers also had/have a soundtrack.

Ghosts of Albion was written on a steady of diet of Hammer Horror films and Black Sabbath.
The Witch was written with a playlist full of "witchy" songs, from the obligatory Stevie Nicks, to Garbage, Third Eye Blind, and Love Spit Love.

I pretty much lay my muses bare for all to see.

This is going to be a fun one to read from others!

http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 14

Who would be on your dream team of people you used to game with?

I don't know. I love the people I game with. I would not want to change it in any way.

I have had the chance over the years to play with some really great people.  I can't imagine that someone else out there would be so much better.


http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 13

What makes a successful campaign?

All the prep, research and planning in the world won't matter if the players are not invested in the world.

The thing that makes for the most successful game is investment and enjoyment by the players.
That is the only thing that matters.

http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 12

What game is your group most likely to play next? Why?

My current group, my kids, love D&D and D&D-like games. They love the old school feel, but prefer new-school mechanics.  So D&D 5 has been perfect so far but it is also very likely we will try some Castles & Crusades next.

My youngest doest care really. As long as he can play his half-elf ranger with an animal companion he is good.  My oldest will play anything, but he likes to play Dragonborn. So if we do C&C I'll need to figure out how to convert the Dragonborn race over.
It would be perfect for my "Second Campaign".

We have also talked about an ACKS/Basic mash-up.
If I do limit my "War of the Witch Queens" campaign to just 13 levels then that is my choice.


http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 11

Which gamer that you have played with has most affected the way that you play?

Hmm.  I know it sounds cheesy but I am going to have to say my kids.
They have changed how I prepare adventures and structure games.  I have played some really long games/campaigns in the past, but what I have had to do to keep them involved and away from the siren song of video games and the Internet has really challenged me.

Yes. I let them play video games and get on the net.  But what I do has to be just as entertaining to them, or more so, to keep them wanting to do this.

http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 10

What was the largest in-game surprise you have experienced?

Wow. I need to think about this one.

I think it would have been how well the flashback episodes worked with my kids.
I had done flashbacks during the run of the Dragon and the Phoenix campaign for Buffy, but it never felt like it did with my sons playing Come Endless Darkness for D&D 5.

I mean I knew it was going to work and work well, but I had no idea that the kids were going to enjoy it as much as they did.   It was so satisfying that I want to figure out ways to do it in other campaigns.

Anytime my players can surprise me with their cleverness is also a great time.

http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 9

What things are a part of your ideal session, other than the actual game?

I prefer to sit at a table with a good chair, but one that will also let me stand up a lot; so one that won't knock over or not slide easily.   I like to have a lot of really sharp pencils, plenty of paper to write notes and of course something to drink.  Not alcohol, I learned a long time ago that drinking and D&D don't mix with me, but something to keep my throat from getting dry.  It used to be Mt. Dew, but these days it is more likely to be water or tea.  And plenty of light.

One of the things I am happiest about is to be at a point in my life to be able to afford the game room of my dreams.  I have shelves where all my books are easy to get to, I have a nice table and cool art on the walls.  Plus my kids my love it and I often find my son down there just working on characters or adventures.

I also love having people are that there to play.  I don't mind table talk or the inevitable Monty Python quote storm; that's all part of the game really.


http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

Monstrous Mondays: Dirds and Meowls

I did not forget Monster Monday!  I have just been really busy at work today and I just got around to it now.

So spend and any time on the Internet and you will soon realize that people are ... well ... really fucking crazy.  I say this in all sincerity.  Go pack and look at the original Monster Manual and you will see such monsters as the iconic Owlbear (based on a plastic figure) and the Peryton (based on a mythological creature).

Well not to be outdone the Internet gives us Dirds and Meowls.

Dirds and Meowls
No. Enc.: 1 (3)
Alignment: Nuetral
Movement: 90' (30') / Fly 180' (60')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite)
Damage: 1d2/1d2/1d4
Special: Very rare
Save: Monster 1
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: NA
XP: 100

Meowls and Dirds are a magical crossbreed. Often thought to be the same sort of deranged arcane experiments that gave us the Owlbear, the results of this experiment are less malign.
Dirds are a cross between birds and dogs, while meowls are a crossbreed of cats and owls.

Dirds typically have animal intelligence with the senses of both dogs and birds.
Meowls typically have slightly higher intelligence.

Both creatures make for good animal companions and even better familiars.   Any wizard or witch can gain a meowl or dird on a result of "Special" on their Find Familiar rolls.  Where an Imp or Quasit would be chosen for an evil spellcaster a Neutral one can choose a Dird or Meowl.

Don't forget to include the hashtag #MonsterMonday on Twitter or #MonsterMonday on Google+ when you post your own monsters!

Gen Con 2016 in Review

I am back from Gen Con.  As always we had a great time. I am on my lunch so I thought I would fire off an update.

Every night was devoted to the Against the Giants adventure. We didn't get as far as we wanted, we only got through G1 The Hill Giants and +Thork Hammer aka R.C. Pinnel's G4 The Stone Giants.

They encountered their first drow of House Eilservs from Erelhei-Cinlu.
Since I am running this all under D&D 5e I am making the Drow of House Eilservs all partially Warlocks of Tharizdun, whom they know as the Elder Elemental God.  The G4 module played into this rather nicely.

I bought some things of course.  Mostly stuck to Castles & Crusades books.

Can't wait to dip into Victorious!

Went to the ENnies.  I didn't win, which I will admit was disapointing.
I'll post more later on this.

I did get a chance to meet +Zak Sabbath, Stoya and Charlotte Stokely at the ENnies and that at least was cool.  Zak took home 3 of the 5 ENnies he was nominated for, that was also cool.  My son loved his speech thanking Satan.  My son threw up some horns for that.  I also got my copy of Maze of the Blue Medusa signed by Zak and Stokely.

Opted to play a lot of different types of games this year.  Played a great game of Castles & Crusades.
Played some Exploding Kittens (really fun) some Munchkin (also fun), got into a board game at the Mayfair group, but didn't really care for it.  Tried to find a board game we all liked, but no success there.

I got some more art for my game room from Wayne Reynolds.  I think I want to get one of those frames that holds three pictures at once.

Wonder how much he would charge to do some art of Larina....

I picked up a copy of Gettysburg for a friend.  Picked up some more dice. Signed up for the Star Trek playtest.  Was going to pick up Pathfinder Horror Adventures, but there wasn't really anything new in it for me.   I might grab it later at my FLGS.

Loved all the Cosplay.  My son went as Jacob from Assassin's Creed and found a like-minded friend.

There were tons of "Harley Quinn"s but also a lot of "Rey"s from Star Wars. I thought that was cool.

While the con is still dominated by middle-aged, bearded white guys I am seeing a lot more families and kids.  This is a great thing.

Ate and spent WAY too much.

Not sure if I can make it next year.  It is later in August and my kids' school starts before Gen Con.

All in all a great time.

Just a test

This is just another little test.

RPGaDAY2016: Day 8

Do you prefer hardcover, softcover, or electronic books? What are the benefits of your preference?

In truth it sorta depends on the game.  I love my softcover old-school books, my hardcover books and my PDFs.  In general, I do like physical books, but I also love the convenience of PDFs.

I have put my PDFs on various cloud systems I have access too so being able to get to my collection at anytime is great.

http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 7

What aspect of Roleplaying Games has had the biggest effect on you?

The writing really.  I wanted certain books or content to play and it was not out there, so I had make it myself.  In the process, I had to write and I had to get better at it.

Never thought I would be in a place where I am writing every day because I wanted to and even other people wanted me to.

Also, I have to admit the friendships I have made over the years have made a huge impact on my life and my kids love playing.


http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 6

What is the most amazing thing that you know a game group has done for their community?

Hmm. I have seen a lot of game groups online give to charity. I organized some charity give aways with my game groups as well.  DriveThruRPG gives a lot to charity and that is nice.

I have seen gamers donate their time, money and books to children in need. Volunteering for various groups.

I like to think that in general that gamers are good people.

http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 5

What story does your group of players tell about your character?

If it is my witch character then it is about the time took out a couple of ghouls at 2nd level.  The best part of it all was she was the almost the last one standing.
Managed to get them all and save the party.

But I have not had many characters in a few years due to always running games.


http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 4

What is the most impressive thing that you can remember another player’s character doing in a session?

I think that would have to have been my youngest son Connor who made three called shots in a row with a bow and rolled three nautral20s in a row.
Damnedest thing I ever saw.


http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 3

What is something you have done with your game character that you are the proudest of?

I have so many characters, but it is my iconic witch Larina I am most proud of.  She has been my playtest character for every witch book I have ever done and have multiple versions of her over many different systems.

She is also the character I have the most art of.  Here is my newest one.

Larina Nix and her winged cat by Agregor

http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 2

Day 2. Let's do this.
What is the best game session you have had since August 2015?

We have had so many really. I think the first flashback episode we did that gave the players some insight to their current campaign.
It worked so weel that I also did a couple more to give them even more information.

http://www.brigadecon.org/rpgaday2016/

RPGaDAY2016: Day 1

It's August and I am participating in the RPGaDAY2016 blog marathon.  This year hosted by BrigadeCon.

So let's get started!

Do you prefer to use real dice, a dice application or program, or use a diceless system?

I am old-school. I prefer real-dice.  I have used many dice programs and apps of all sorts going back to the dawn of both D&D and computers.  But for me the feel and sound of dice hitting the table is where it is as for me.

Zatannurday: Justice League Dark Animated

Justice League Dark is coming to video!

Matt Ryan as Constantine. Zatanna, Swamp Thing, Deadman, The Demon and ... Batman? Ok.  That is still cool.

Check out the video sneak peak.





SO looking forward to this one!

Kickstart Your Weekend: Gaslight 5e

Without realizing it I made this a 5e themed week.  Not just 5e, but unofficial add-ons to your 5e game.
So I'll end the week with a 5e-based Kickstarter for a setting/system I am very familiar with.

Gaslight has been out of 3.x based OGL and Savage Worlds.  Now there is a 5e version coming out and I am quite excited.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/battlefieldpress/gaslight-victorian-fantasy-for-5e-fantasy

Here is what I said of the 1st edition of the OGL and SW Gaslight RPG:

If you enjoyed the old Masque of the Red Death game, or just Victorian Gothic games in general then this is a great choice.  What is particularly nice about this nice about Gaslight is how much history is included in the book.  While that might be your thing, this is quite important for a Victorian game.  There is also a great overview of the whole world, not just England.  For these alone Gaslight is a worth the price as resources for any other Victorian game. Gaslight does give you more than that.  There are new races you can play, such as werewolf and vampire, which are found in many games. But also the more uncommon Beast Men (which I have only seen in one other game) and the unique (as far as I can tell) Wildlings; or unaging wild children.

There are plenty of new options for all sorts characters, of any race or background. Not to mention new magic, groups, and plenty of foes to face.

I compared this game to the old Masque of the Red Death. Well if MotRD is "Dracula" then Gaslight is "Varney the Vampire"; less familiar, but maybe a touch darker.

Personally I think this game will work much better under 5e than 3e.  So I am really looking forward to it.

Classic Modules Today

A tip of the hat to Armchair Gamer for sharing this.

There is a group online that are converting classic D&D adventures over to 5e and putting them up for sale on the DM's Guild.

Classic Modules Today has a website, a Google+ group and of course modules for sale at DM's Guild.  They are working through a list of modules and you can see their progress on their website.

I grabbed their updates for the Drow series, D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth and D3 Vault of the Drow for a buck each.

Sure there is nothing there I could not figure out on my own, but it's all here and only a buck.

I also grabbed their conversion of B4 The Lost City.  It has conversion file (which I don't really need) but also the OpenOffice document files you can use to create your own conversions.

Maybe one day I will do the conversions of the D&D4 Orcus vs. the Raven Queen adventures. They are not exactly classics, but I would still like to run them some day.

Class Struggles: The DM's Guild Witches

Initiation Ritual by Trishkell

I'm very deep into my D&D5 game right now and I have already scribbled out a notebook full of ideas of how to convert my Witch class to 5e.  So much so that I feel like I am in a good place now to look at other people's interpretation of my favorite class for 5e.

While there is a lot of fun D&D5 information out there, I focused my attention on the DM's Guild online store.   This is not an exhaustive list and it is not in any particular order.   Well...they are in the order they opened up in Acrobat.

General notes.  There is a lot of things you can get away with in the DM's Guild that would never fly under the OGL or in the OSR.  I am going to have to judge these on their own merits and not the merits of professional designers or even the enthusiastic amateurs of the OSR/DIYD&D crowds.

Witch Class, D&D 5e (inspired by Dragon #114 witch)
Christopher J. Ferguson, 9 pages, $1.00
I love the art for this one, but the background image makes it harder to read and difficult to print.   He starts with a bit of history of the witch in D&D, but I am not sure if the author knows how far back this class actually goes.  That's fine the focus here is on the Dragon #114 witch.
This witch uses both Intelligence and Charisma for spellcasting and is a divine spellcaster.  There is a distinction between White and Black magic witches.  I like the "A Blessing and a Curse" idea here. It's a nice touch.  The witches also get a lot of powers in addition to their spells.  Some, like the candle magic powers, really do invoke the memories of the old Dragon Magazine witch.   There are even 5 new spells.  I had hoped that since this was inspired by the Dragon witch that there would be High Secret Order spells too, but the author did not include those.
There are some good ideas here.

Witch Class (5e)
William Russell, 13 pages, PWYW (paid $1.00)
I rather like this one.  The layout is really nice, very professional. The witches here as presented as natural spell-casters; learning through natural ability and experiences. Wisdom is the spellcasting ability for this witch and are natural Ritual Spellcasters.   This witch also has a number of witch traditions; fey, hedge and shadow.  All provide the witch with background and provide some powers. This witch also can assume animal shape and has a spirit kin; something like a spirit animal.  There is a list of spells, but no real new ones.
There are a lot of great ideas in this one to be honest.

Witch Class
Todd D, 6 pages, PWYW (paid $1.00)
This witch is more like a warlock, but that is what it is advertised as.  These witches appear to be manipulators of Fate.  These witches also use Wisdom as their spell casting ability.  Instead of pacts or traditions this witch has "Heritages"; the Traditionalist, the Blighted, and the Clarivoyant.  Each one gives the witch some different sorts of powers.  Ends with a spell list.
At six pages it seems a bit thin, but does exactly what it said it was going to do.

The Shaman - A New Take
From A Point of Inspiration, 8 pages, PWYW (paid $1.00)
Not exactly a witch, but close. This class has spellcasting foci, like a fetish or idol, which gives it a nice feel.  Wisdom is the spellcasting ability.  This class also has some spirit based powers that are interesting.  The relationship here is similar to the cleric and druid is similar to the Sorcerer-Wizard-Warlock one.  I think I would have liked to have seen this class use something more like the Warlock style spellcasting to be honest, but what is here works fine.  It is a good class, but I am left wanting more.

Spells of the Unapproachable East
From Polaron Posadas, 12 pages, PWYW (paid $1.00)
This collects various spells that have appeared in some Forgotten Realms books in previous editions focusing on the lands of Thay, Aglarond, Rashemen, Thesk and the Great Dale.  If these names do not mean anything to you, don't worry, I only am vaguely aware of them myself.  The point here is that there are a lot of "new" spells for you.   The spells comprise the last 8 pages.  Some are familiar enough to me just because I have been playing for 36+ years, but some are new to me.  Twelve pages for a buck (or less) is not a bad deal really.

Glamour Mage Class
From Phoenix Bryant, 12 pages, PWYW (paid $1.00)
This one is nice since it comes in both screen and print ready versions.  While not exactly a witch, it covers a lot of the same ground.  Spellcasting is like a warlocks and a emphasis is given on glamour and flashy spells.   There is actually quite an interesting and unique class here and one I'd like to try playing.  Maybe an NPC would work well.

New Warlock Invocations
From Mad Le Fou, 8 pages, PWYW (paid $1.00)
Four pages of new Warlock invocations and two pages of a new Fighter archtype, the Hexblade. The Hexblade obviously gets some ability from the Pact of the Blade Warlock, but some martial ability as well.  The artist is not listed, but I found his work here: http://rodimus25.deviantart.com/art/Fantasy-Warlock-174156589

Pacts & Patrons (and eldritch invocations!)
From Pilleri Federico, 12 pages, $1.50
Two new pacts and five new patrons for warlocks.  The art and layout is nice.  The Aegis Pact is similar to Pact of the Blade.  The Pact of Concoctions makes the warlock into a brewer of potions.  The patrons are for me the more interesting part of the book.  These include The Archmage, The Ascendent (almost a god), Fate, Mother Nature and the Phoenix.  Each comes with some flaws and an expanded spell list.  The last couple of pages are devoted to new invocations.

Druid Circle - Circle of the Eremite
From Nathan England, 3 pages, PWYW (paid $0.50)
Potion brewing druids. Comes with printer friendly and screen versions.  This class has a Hedge Wtich feel about it to be honest. A bunch of new potions are listed at the end.
Not a bad idea, but feels a little off to me somehow. I have not put my finger on it to be honest.

3 Archetypes #04 - Druid
From Diego Bastet, 4 pages, $1.00
What is says on the tin. Three new Druid circles including a Circle of Witchcraft.  Interesting ideas, but not entirely sure it works for me. The Circle of Rebirth and Circle of Seasons are more interesting and come a little closer to what is expected from a druid.

Archetypes for D&D
From Donald Stelling, 7 pages, PWYW (paid $1.00)
Five new archetypes including a witch (sorcerer) and the witch hunter (any).  The witch gets some new spells (from other classes) and four new powers. If I were to use this with other witch classes I might call it a Witch-kin or a Witch-blooded.

The Dungeon Master's Handbook II
From Andrew Cawood,  94 pages, $4.99
The largest book downloaded from the DM's Guild so far.  Lots of lists of monsters and encounters, most of which I have no need for. Sadly that accounts for about 40 some pages.  There are about 30 pages of monster stats with minimal descriptions and no art.  If you are running Curse of Strahd I see that there is some use in this.

Wizard Tradition: The Witch
From Devlinus Productions, 7 pages, PWYW (paid $1.00)
This presents three witchcraft Wizard traditions: White, Black, and Gray and two Patron: the Fiend and the Earth Mother.  This one is more in-line with other TSR/WotC versions of the Witch, esp the 2nd and 4th editions where the witch was akin to the Wizard.   The author even states that the 2nd ed Witch kit was one of his favorites and I can see that here. The Patrons and the traditions offer mostly role-playing favor to the witch, but that is fine.  The witch gains ritual casting abilities and boons.  The odd thing about this one are the minimum ability scores required.  I don't recall any D&D class having minimum ability scores required in 5e.  There are some good ideas and certainly a witch I would like to try playing.

I think I will do something I did for Necromancers in 3.x and later witch-like classes in 4e. I'll print these all out, but them in a binder and make a character using each class.  It would be a lot of fun. Well...fun for me anyway.

I can even throw in this one from the DnD-5e-Homebrew Tumblr.
http://dnd-5e-homebrew.tumblr.com/post/138019533480/witch-class-by-zarieth

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Getting ready to start running the Giants series next week!

Since I am going to be running this under 5e I made some conversion notes and print outs to help me along.

Not to mention some great user supported material online from various sources including WotC.

It's all coming together rather nicely I have to say.

I put these all together in a binder and opted to print one side per page so I could right notes on the other blank side.   It is nice to have over 36 years of material created for these adventures to help me along today and make the experience one I know my players will enjoy.  Can't wait to get into to this!

Monstrous Mondays: D&D 5e Homebrew Tumblr

Typically I don't pay much attention to Tumblr. But this is something that has popped up a few times on my feed that is too cool to ignore.

The D&D 5e Homebrew Tumblr page has a ton of really nice material for a D&D 5 game.  Including a lot of monsters.

The pages are well done and there is a lot of material here.
Including some new dragons:

http://dnd-5e-homebrew.tumblr.com/post/147797832343/how-to-train-your-dragons-nightfury-by

Princess Mononoke/San

http://dnd-5e-homebrew.tumblr.com/post/144553345402/spirit-of-the-wolf-by-jonoman3000

It's fun blog and worth your time if you play D&D5 at all.

Don't forget to include the hashtag #MonsterMonday on Twitter or #MonsterMonday on Google+ when you post your own monsters!

It's A Great Time to be a Geek!

If I could send one page of my blog back in time to my younger self, it would be one where I list the dates all the major tech companies had their IPO...but  the second page I would send would be this one.  Two DC movies, four DC TV shows (more if you count Lucifer, Gotham, I Zombie and Preacher), Doctor Strange and a new Blair Witch movie.  Was Comic Con going on or something? ;)

Here are all the goodies...tip o' the hat to Tim Knight at Hero Press for most of these.




This is so good! And Etta Candy!



Aquaman looks like a bad-ass, plus a double dose of Wonder Woman?  Yes please!





Flashpoint!



Justice Society!



Not a fan of the ship design, but if it is pre-Kirk then I can live with it.


Been waiting for this one for YEARS!




Not to mention great things already out like Stranger Things, Star Trek and the new Ghostbusters.

End of July! (Sorta)

Almost.

The ENnie Voting is done.  Thanks to everyone that voted for me.

RPGNow has their Christmas in July Sale going on now and for the next week.  Check that out.
On sale, in particular, is my Sisters of the Aquarian Order for White Star (which is also on sale).

Today is also my 21st wedding anniversary.  So I'll be celebrating that today with the one thing we have done since 1987...going to see a Star Trek movie!

Class Stuggles: The Thaumaturge

I am a sucker for new classes, especially magic-using classes. So I was very pleased to hear that +Matthew Skail was releasing a new class designed to replace the magic-user in OSR games.
The Thaumaturge is a 20-level spell casting class in 10 pages for any OSR-like game.

The main feature of the titular class is their non-Vancian spell casting system.  Now  I will admit that I am a fan of Vancian magic. It is part and parcel of playing D&D in my mind.  That being said I have experimented with a number of non-Vancian and spell-point enabled systems over the years.   But I keep coming back to Vancian magic.   The Thaumatuge is a well thought out class though and the system has merit.  There is a bit of 3.0 in this class' DNA, namely extensive use of the ability modifiers, but not so much as to drive away die hard Grognards.

The class is well written and could easily be dropped into any OSR game.  In fact I think such things should be encouraged; different lands should have different types of magics.

The main feature of this class though is not just the spell-point system, but rather a system that gives the magic-user the means to do some dice-rolling just like the melee types.  Having seen this more in 4th and 5th edition for arcane types, this is not something to be underestimated.  People love to roll the dice to see if they hit or, in this case, a spell's success.   There is even something in this that I normally call a "repeated casting modifier" (called Overcasting here).  The idea of the "Mastered Spell" is also a nice one.   Again, nothing we all have not seen elsewhere, but still nice to have in one place.

Since this is designed to replace the standard Magic-User it still uses Intelligence as the primary ability.  I think though a strong case could be made to replace that with Charisma and make it a unique class.  They can use the same spells as the Magic-user does, much like how the magic-user and elf can in Basic, or the Wizard and Sorcerer in 3rd edition.

There are also a couple of new spells and some new magic items.  All for less money than a 20oz bottle of soda and a bag of chips.

There are some formatting issues with the document.  Page numbers would also be nice and I'd put in a manual page break over Optional Rules.

Thoughts on Expansion
While reading this I could not help but think that is actually two classes.  First, there is the stated design goal, an augmentation of the magic-user class.  But there is also a completely new class here as well.  We can call them the Thaumaturgic Wizard and the Thaumaturge respectively.  Now on paper there is no real difference here, but the concept opens up new possibilities.
The Thaumaturgic Wizard implies there can be Thaumaturgic Clerics, Thaumaturgic Illusionists or even a Thaumaturgic Witch.
The Thaumaturge, however, is a different sort of caster.  To go with the dictionary definition of Thaumaturgy you would almost need to add a little bit of clerical power to them without necissarily invoking some diety.  Or at least a couple of the cleric's spells.   Again, I'd base his spellcasting ability on Charisma at this point and make him something like a counterpoint to the witch.

This class as written would also gain some benefit from some of the ritual casting as presented in +Kasimir Urbanski's Dark Albion: Cults of Chaos.  If you use spell points then places of power is a nice logical extension.

I have to say there is a lot of ideas here, certainly more than it's page count suggests.

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I am up for an Ennie this year for Best Blog!
Please click on the link and vote "1" under "The Other Side".

Vote! (and a test post)

We are in the last few hours of voting for the ENnies. So here is my last ditch attempt to beg for votes.

Also, I wanted to test out this Facebook embed functionality.


So yes please. Vote for me!


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I am up for an Ennie this year for Best Blog!
Please click on the link and vote "1" under "The Other Side".